Pacific Swordfish or Bohemian Black Carp? Bourdieuan Classification of Tourists' Tastes in Fish Tourism
Abstract
This research aims to explore whether Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social fields can be used to determine preferences for tourism products. In particular, fish gastronomy as a part of fish tourism in the region of South Bohemia, Czech Republic, was examined.
Special attention was paid to dishes prepared from the most typical Czech fish, common carp (Cyprinus carpio). The qualitative research methodology was employed, including a focus group with five Czech chefs and photo-elicitation interviews (PEIs) with 25 Czech tourists.
During the PEIs, 128 photographs of 16 most typical Czech carp dishes were presented to start a discussion and evoke agents' emotions. Results comprise of constructing the Bourdieuan food space with the positioning of agents and their tastes depicted by most preferred carp dishes.
Selective transcriptions were used to show possession of various levels of embodied cultural capital. While traditional fish dishes were more preferred by tourists with higher embodied cultural capital, tourists with lower levels of embodied cultural capital chose modern dishes.
The differences between lower and higher levels of this capital were demonstrated by underlining one of the two opposing food aspects-functionality or taste. Moreover, the PEIs led the agents to describe subsequent tourism activities that were mostly in accordance with the previous food-connected statements.